The Infamous Patient

“Yes sir, I am sure.” Said Mrs Rogers confidently as she had already thought this through.

“But …… but we can't risk yet another life!” said Dr Brent, the senior consultant. "And I tell you, those were the best of our people that he led to death. All of them in the pink of their health and mind. Psychiatrists have helped hundreds of people. Do you hear me? Hundreds. But as soon as they counsel that one monster of a patient..ugh..the next day all we are left with is a suicide note and a dead body. All six of them the exact same way!"

Mrs Rogers nodded still determined.

“I still have no idea why you want to take up that patient.” he added, “you see, no one can help him.”

“Yes sir, I understand, but for some reason, I feel like it’s my duty to at least try” she started, “we can’t go around helping and finding new patients while we ignore one that is in desperate need of our attention. We got to save him too. Who is gonna help him if not us?” her voice rising on its way to the end of her sentence.

“Well, now if you attack my sense of duty like that, I can’t argue with you any further. Here, help yourself,” he said passing her the records of Patrick, the infamous patient. “And if you want we can help you ….you know installing cameras and mics so that we can get you out if we sense something wrong.

“No sir, I wouldn’t want to violate his privacy.”

"Alright missy, but all we want is for you to be safe. And so it’s my order that you stay in the hospital under strict surveillance for 24 hrs. after you have finished his consultation.”

“Yes sir, thank you.” she smiled assuredly.

Everyone in the hospital wished her good luck as she entered room no. 2020. Everyone waited outside, anxiously going about their chores as no one knew what was going on behind the shut door.

After a two-hour-long session, she finally came out, her eyes meeting everybody else’s worried ones. Dr Brent came to her with two nurses. one went ahead and took the patient back to his ward while the other took Ms Rogers to another room. Soon she was being treated like she was a patient herself. Nurses came every now and again checking upon her getting relieved every time they saw that she was fine. The window was kept shut close and any object that seemed harmful was taken out.

She slept the rest of the day. As she continued to sleep her way through the next day, the nurses started to get concerned even though it was easier to monitor her this way. As long as she was breathing, everything was fine. She woke up with a start. All the noise outside of her room was the cause of it. She went outside to find a crowd of horror-stricken faces. She made her way to the centre and her legs gave way at the sight of Patrick laying dead. Blood oozing out of the slit in his hand. Dr Brent came to her trying to comfort her weeping self.

“He confessed to me,” she started, her voice choking, “ h-he was talking about how guilty he felt for what he had done to the others….he s-said…he said th-hat he would like to make it all better……aaahh god what have I done ?!? I-I thought he was talking about how he would start seeking help and continue the consultation. How foolish of me ?!”

Dr Brent comforted her, “ It’s alright, hey hey calm down, he was a peculiar man none of us could have known, It’s not your fault. Go get your things, you should leave for home.

She nodded and went to her room and started packing all her things. She suddenly stopped and wiped the last tear dropping down her otherwise dry face. Then she took out a list from her back pocket, added a name in it and crossed it out -7. Patient Patrick, under the heading Crest Hospital with other six crossed-out names. "Dare someone to disobey me again."